Novato entrepreneur finds a new life in a different bottle

Bottles have played a major role in the life of Lynes Downing, for good and ill. The former alcoholic fought his way back from homelessness to sobriety and two years ago founded a Novato company that sells collapsible, BPA-free water bottles.

Nomad, so named because it is "the bottle that goes anywhere," according to Downing, folds flat and rolls up after the liquid in it is gone. The lightweight plastic bottles hold 16 ounces and can be reused without harmful chemicals breaking down and getting into the water.

"I came up with the idea in August 2011 when I read about collapsible bottles in an old magazine," said Downing, who grew up in Novato and returned to town four years ago after going to college at the University of Southern California and living in Phoenix for 16 years.

"I bought 100 bottles and a tent to show them in and went to the Treasure Island flea market in 2011 for my first show," Downing said. "I sold 50 bottles." Downing, who has a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, was off to a promising start.

He began selling the bottles, which come in colors from fuchsia to hot pink to lime green, at other flea markets and events on weekends, while holding down a full-time job at Peet's Coffee & Tea. He sells the bottles for $5.99 apiece.

Two years later, the entrepreneur, currently on leave from Peet's in the wake of rotator cuff surgery, had his most successful event ever.

"I sold more than 250 bottles in one day at (the) Petaluma Art and Garden Festival," Downing said.

Drinking from BPA-free bottles is a good idea, according to Mani Subramanian, who teaches chemistry at the College of Marin.

"BPA is a bisphenol acetone compound which has been determined to act like a hormone," Subramanian said. "It affects babies and children, particularly the fetus of a pregnant mother, so it has been banned for water bottles in Canada and Europe."

The danger is when water bottles containing BPA are used over and over, the professor said.

"The bottle (contains) chemicals. Those chemicals are going to break down. The chemicals go into the water and when you drink it, chemicals get into your body," Subramanian said.

It's understandable why Downing might enjoy promoting a healthy drinking experience after his own battles with a different type of bottle. After hitting bottom with a DUI incarceration in 2010 shortly after returning to Novato, he recovered with the help of local social service agencies.

"As soon as I got out of jail I joined AA and stopped drinking," Downing said. Through the Next Key program at Novato-based Homeward Bound, he was able to live in a studio apartment for two years. These days he rents a room in a home in Novato.

In April, he began selling his wares at a kiosk at San Rafael's Northgate Mall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and holidays.

One of Downing's customers said the product has weaned him off single-use bottles.

"I have a family of six and we are hikers and backpackers. We like the reusable aspect of the bottle — the green appeal was a big part of the appeal," said John LaRoy of Novato. "We don't buy the cases of bottled water any more. We just refill the reusable bottles."